Customer Reviews

Lady Flatterley

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

How nice to discover a new author of Christian children's books who understands children and books. The story is written in rhyme, with a playful attitude. I found myself wishing I had a little one on my lap as I read the different voices. The pages are beautifully illustrated and loaded with vivid colors by Pearl L. Ollie.

There's something for a wide age span. For the youngest reader, there are so many details to point out and discuss: "Where's a turtle?" "Do you see a dragonfly?" or "Find a fish." For the older child, there's the science of how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. I especially like the part where the reader learns to leave a struggling caterpillar alone; I've always been tempted to help them out a bit. Depending of the ability of the child, alliteration could be taught.

All of this is summed up neatly by declaring the making of a butterfly to be "God's way." I recommend this one for the children on your gift list.

Lady Flatterley by Linda Wagner and Illustrated by Pearl L. Ollie is perhaps one of the most uniquely written and illustrated works for children I have had the pleasure of reading in some time now. The author has been able to work in several nice little life lessons, using verse form, which is not only reassuring in a sweet mellow way, but quite informative and will be a delight to any child. It allows the adult to introduce all sorts of discussion, something I always look for in a child's book.

Lady Flatterley, our heroine, enters the story as a fuzzy caterpillar hiding among the leaves in a tall oak tree. She is fearful of the wind and obviously of the busy life that is going on around her. She wants to see things, to experience life, but to be frank, she is fearful. The author then takes us on the journey that transforms this caterpillar, thorough the process of preparing her cocoon and eventually, after a long cold winter, transforming in to a free and beautiful butterfly. She receives help, advice and information from helpful creatures around her during her metamorphosis from childhood to an adult.

What wonderful messages there are in this little work for all children! First they are taught that fear of the unknown is really wasted fear, that nature or God has a plan for all of us, and if we trust and let life develop naturally; then we will be much better off for it. The child is taught that change is a natural process, one that all living things go through and that it is a normal life process and one that should be looked forward to. Ms. Wagner has done a very nice job of documenting and teaching the life cycle of a butterfly, so we have a nice little biology lesson thrown in for good measure. The child is also taught, in a rather round about way, that there are really no free lunches, and that good things must be worked for; that we must participate in our own maturation process for it to work.

Now some of these lessons will need to be pointed out to the child by the adult reading the book, which when you think about it, is the job and responsibility of the adult anyway. This is a good thing.

The art work in this book is something to behold. Each page is covered with vivid and contrasting colors which blend perfectly and go precisely with the text. A technique which I have seen before has been used here where the back ground has been accomplished via digital photography and imagery by Jerry Hanzi. The artist, Pearl L. Olive, has superimposed her work over this and blended it perfectly. While familiar with this technique, I must say that it has been used here more effectively than in most works I have reviewed.

All in all, the writing here is great, the illustrations go beyond impressive, and the overall message of the story is invaluable. This is a great read-a-long book, or one for just the child to ponder on his or her own. I do highly recommend this one! Let us hope we hear more from this author!

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

Lady Flatterley is a sweet, yet timid, caterpillar who appears to be afraid of life itself. She hides all day in a tall oak tree, in a home made of leaves, watching the world go by. She wants to have more in life, but her fears hold her back.

One day a beautiful butterfly visits her. Lady Flatterley is in awe at his beauty and his freedom. He explains to her that he too was once a caterpillar until the time came for him to make his cocoon. He explains how this will keep her safe and warm until it is time for her to break free, and once she does, she too will live a different life than the fearful one she has now.

Lady Flatterley didn't totally understand all that was told to her, but soon it came to pass and she was tucked safely in her cocoon as the winter roared. Finally it was time for her to come out, but poor Lady Flatterley didn't seem able to break her cocoon. Others wanted to help, but knew that God wanted Lady Flatterley to learn to survive on her own. Once she achieves this, she gives thanks to God and begins to enjoy the life she was meant to live.

What a wonderful book. Through the life of Lady Flatterley children will learn that there are always some obstacles in life that we must overcome to come to a place the Lord wants us to be. The work shows that fear often tries to make us step back and not move forward to a better place, but if we trust God we will be victorious.

Illustrations are very colorful, well defined, and definitely bring the story to life. A great tale with educational and spiritual value. Recommended.

Who knew a caterpillar could be so self-conscious?

In this adorable, well-illustrated tale, Wagner's yellow jacket caterpillar Lady Flatterley longs for the wings that many a friend and passerby ride the winds on, but is a bit afraid of leaving the safety of her leafy nest and unaware of what to do to obtain her own wings. A knowledgeable butterfly informs her of the wonder of the cocoon, and soon, though not without trouble, Flatterley bears a pair of wings all her own.

The colorful, whimsical illustrations by Pearl Ollie add a child-like grace to the fluent rhymes, while photographer Jerry Hanzl's cloudy backdrops add an undeniably beautiful canvas for the story. Further, Ollie's additions of emotional expression to each present creature, whether fish or flyer, had relatable, human-like qualities to otherwise strange, placid nature-dwellers.

An excellent read for the children of youth and the children of heart.


- T.C. Robson

Linda Wagner writes Christian childrens books so this book obviously has some religious themes. Lady Flatterley is anxious to become a butterfly so that she can finally leave her hiding place on a tree limb. It turns out that becoming a butterfly is a little bit more work than Lady Flatterley expected. Everything works out in the end when Lady Flatterley realizes that becoming a butterfly was part of God's plan for her.

Overall I thought that is was a cute book. Personally I am not a very religious person, but I think that this would be a good book for Christian parents who want to teach their children about God.

As people change over time, two things drive their destiny. Their goals and actions and what nature has dictated they develop into. When we are young, we look around us and see other creatures doing things that we cannot. This causes us to dream and imagine that we too will someday be able to do what those creatures do. Sometimes that is impossible, for example the clumsy man of 5' 7" will not be a star in the National Basketball Association. However, nature has a plan for us and it is very possible that we will grow into what we want to be. That growth must be on our own, there are some things that we just have to do ourselves; nature has intended that it remain a personal struggle.
This book is a parable of that natural struggle. Lady Flatterly is a caterpillar that resides high in a tree and she is fearful and hopeful. She is afraid that the wind will blow her out of the tree and she is hopeful when she sees the beautiful butterflies. Their freedom to move about is something she aspires to, and when a butterfly comes to rest on her branch, she is told that her destiny is to become a butterfly.
When the summer turns to fall, nature takes its' course and Lady Flatterly spins a tight cocoon. When spring arrives, she must battle her way out of the cocoon and after her wings dry up, she is able to fly. In the course of her flight, she encounters a reflective window and for the first time realizes what she has become. Lady Flatterly now understands that nature had intended for her to become the beautiful creature that she is.
Colorfully illustrated, this tale takes children on a simple journey to the beauty of destiny. We all will physically become what nature has intended us to be, it is our task to appreciate the wonder of it all and make something of it. While it might take some adult direction for children to see this, the message is clear and valuable.

A sweet caterpillar living in a tree wishes to become something beautiful, like a butterfly. She meets a butterfly who tells her that she will be a butterfly one day, it will just take time and work.

I like the message about the caterpillar turning into a butterfly being part of God's plan. I think in some way we all hope we're made to be apart of something special or to be someone special just as Lady Flatterley learns she is.

Lady Flatterley is a rather insecure caterpillar -- hiding in the leaves from the strong wind, heights, and suffering from a general sense of anxiety and insecurity. Longing for something more, she watches the winged creatures flying about her oak tree. A chance visit from a friendly butterfly sheds light on the transformation about to take place in Lady Flatterly's life.

Written in rhyme, Linda Wagner's story of the transformation from timid caterpillar to confident butterfly rejoices in the workings of God's design. Told in rhyming prose, the rhyme scheme is off in places, and suffers from somewhat awkward phrasing and cadence; Lady Flatterley's story could have been rendered more flowing through the use of straightforward narrative prose.

Featuring unique, large, full-page illustrations, Lady Flatterley acts out her drama of transformation against a backdrop of hand-drawn artwork by Pearl Ollie and real photographic backgrounds drawn from the digital photography of Jerry Hanzl. This rather unusual combination of realism and whimsicality certainly adds a different feel to the storybook, but I found it vaguely unsettling.

Wagner's tale sheds a subtle light on God's hand at work in the transformative process from fear to freedom, but, other than that, does little to add to the oft-used theme of metamorphosis in children's literature. With so much previous exposure to the general storyline of caterpillars maturing into butterflies, the plot seemed rather trite and unimaginative.

However, Christian parents without a butterfly picture book in their collection may find this title a good choice if they can find a reasonably priced copy. Though Wagner seems to be suffering alongside other authors who have published with an overpriced self-publishing oriented press ($22.95 on Amazon for a 44 page paperback), it can be purchased directly from Wagner for a much more competitive $14.99.

When asking my six-year-old what she thought of Lady Flatterley she replied, "Umm, it's okay, but I don't like it as much as that book." She pointed to a different picture book we'd read earlier that day. I'm sorry to say that I was never asked for a repeat reading, leaving no doubt in my mind that this title didn't connect deeply with any member of our family.

It's clear that Wagner has the best of intentions, and dearly loves the grandchildren for whom she penned this tale. But, when compared with the wide array of professionally produced picture books, it does seem rather lackluster.

Lady Flatterly is a rhyming, softcover children's picturebook featuring simple, joyful color illustrations and a positive Christian message. Lady Flatterly begins as a caterpillar; when the time comes, she must create a cocoon to transform into a butterfly. "God wanted Flatterly / to learn how to thrive, / So He gave her instincts / on how to survive. // God knew if a butterfly she wanted to be, / She must break her cocoon that hung in that tree." A delightful parable for children, with a strong underlying theme concerning God's love and wisdom.

What does a caterpillar want more than anything else? Lady Flatterley is a caterpillar who lives way up high in a tall oak tree, hiding behind the leaves to keep safe. One day, she sees a butterfly who goes fluttering by. Right then and there she decides that she wants to be a butterfly and fly around freely so that she would not need to hide in the tree or be afraid of the strong wind any longer. What is God's plan for Lady Flatterley? Will she be able to build a cocoon and achieve her dream?

Linda Wagner's gentle, rhyming text combines with Pearl Ollie's muted but picturesque illustrations to tell an engaging story that is not only simple and down to earth reading for children to enjoy but also informative as well. Of course, there is the description of how a caterpillar spins a cocoon and eventually becomes a butterfly. However, on a deeper level there is the example of Lady Flatterley's facing her fears of failure and change, problems that often plague children and even adults. What a neat way to encourage children to seek God's will for their lives! I think that it is charming.